Is this summer time to move Kleiza and Amir Johnson ?

[Raptor4Ever]

It was great to see Davis starting and getting comefortable beside AB. I am not sure when Amir will be back but I hope Jay keeps him on the bench where he belongs.

The future starting front line for Raptors is AB and Davis which has a great balance for both offence, defence.

With the emergence of DD as a reliable SG, and James Johnson as reliable back up SF, BC needs to move both Kleiza and Amir this season and use the money to get a legitimate SF. He will have almost 10 million to spent on a star caliber SF which can bring defense, scoring and rebounding to this team.

I am hoping that we address the PG position through the Draft and move Jose as well. With Barbosa as a back up PG and Bayless as our 3rd string PG ( since he really is a 3rd string PG and not even a Back up PG), this team will not feel the absence of Jose.

However, this is easier said than done since all three guys are quite over paid. But on the other hand, BC has shown us all that he is quite good on trading players which he signed the summer before and changing direction on the fly

Come on BC, you can DO IT !!!

[Matt52]

No one in the league will take on Kleiza's contract given his injury and recovery time.

For what Amir provides he is adequately paid. If you trade him, who is coming off the bench who can do what Amir does?

[malefax]

Why would we get rid of Amir? He's a great fit for the team and his contract is a bargain for what he does.

BC will already have 10 million to spend this summer, even if he doesn't move anybody. An upgrade at SF would be great, but I think it's most likely to happen via the draft.

[JoePanini]

I wouldn't trade either, Amir is one of the most important players on the team and Kleiza still has a lot to prove when he comes back.

[Raptor4Ever]

I agree with Kleiza. I think it will be another contract that we need to either carry for long time or just take back another bad contract and hope for the best. Thanks BC, fix your mistake.

As far as Amir Goes, He may be paid OK if he was a starter and was able to play for 30 minutes a night on regular basis. However, I think for the 10-15 minutes that he should get next year backing Davis, we can get a much chpeaer hustle PF to that dirty work. There is no need to pay Amir 6-7 million a year for 15 minutes of work. As I said before, Davis is a starting PF for this team and Amir is very over paied to sit on the bench.

This team's most urgent needs are a reliable PG and a great scoring Small forward. With the new CBA and Salary cap, we will not have additional 10 million to spent on another SF. Money will be tight in the future NBA and I don't see us being able to address our weakest link ( SF) in the free agency unless we get ride of some of the dead weight.

[Raptor4Ever]

An upgrade at SF would be great, but I think it's most likely to happen via the draft.

I am hoping the draft address our other great need which is a PG. Lets face it, we don't have a PG that we can build around and move forward.

[JoePanini]

I agree with Kleiza. I think it will be another contract that we need to either carry for long time or just take back another bad contract and hope for the best. Thanks BC, fix your mistake.

As far as Amir Goes, He may be paid OK if he was a starter and was able to play for 30 minutes a night on regular basis. However, I think for the 10-15 minutes that he should get next year backing Davis, we can get a much chpeaer hustle PF to that dirty work. There is no need to pay Amir 6-7 million a year for 15 minutes of work. As I said before, Davis is a starting PF for this team and Amir is very over paied to sit on the bench.

This team's most urgent needs are a reliable PG and a great scoring Small forward. With the new CBA and Salary cap, we will not have additional 10 million to spent on another SF. Money will be tight in the future NBA and I don't see us being able to address our weakest link ( SF) in the free agency unless we get ride of some of the dead weight.

Amir will be playing more than 10-15 minutes. He is key if we ever want to be a team which wins 45-50 games. Davis is not ready to play more than 30 minutes, and Amir has played stretches at the 5. He will play at least 20 minutes (obviously also depending on foul trouble) and will be a great factor in the time he plays.

[Raptor4Ever]

Amir will be playing more than 10-15 minutes. He is key if we ever want to be a team which wins 45-50 games. Davis is not ready to play more than 30 minutes, and Amir has played stretches at the 5. He will play at least 20 minutes (obviously also depending on foul trouble) and will be a great factor in the time he plays.

I fully disagree. Davis will be ready to play heavy minutes next year after having a year in NBA and whole summer to work out . Plus, we might have a late start to next season which will give him more time in the gym.

As long as undersized, 220 lb Amir Johnson play 5 in this team, we will not win more than 30 games in each season. Amir is not suited for 5 and everyone knows that.

[bigmanshaq]

at the moment, theres no need for this move. especially since amir's been the soul of this team, playing through injuries, tough d, good defence. but when draft time comes around, if we somehow landed another pf like sullinger, then we definitely should consider moving some of our players around.
keep in mind that if we manage to aquire a starting caliber center, barg will be moved to the 4 spot, which would give us 4 pf (barg, amir, davis, johnson), by that time i would second your motion of trading some of our 4 man.

[Michel G]

The lack of respect Amir Johnson gets from some members of the fan base is bizarre. He scores 10 points a game, shoots 58% from the field, rebounds, blocks shots, and most important of all, he shoots 80% from the line. Until Ed Davis can get that efficient from the free throw line, he's not going to be on the floor at crunch time over Amir.

[Brasky]

I fully disagree. Davis will be ready to play heavy minutes next year after having a year in NBA and whole summer to work out . Plus, we might have a late start to next season which will give him more time in the gym.

As long as undersized, 220 lb Amir Johnson play 5 in this team, we will not win more than 30 games in each season. Amir is not suited for 5 and everyone knows that.

You can put Amir and Davis out there at the same time depending on the matchups. This is pretty obvious. Amir's our best player anyway so he should be on the floor as much as possible.

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

Andrea Bargnani
Jose Calderon
Linas Kliza
Leandrinho Barbosa


ONLY GUYS I KEEP NEXT YEAR...

DEMAR DEROZAN
ED DAVIS
JOEY DORSEY
JAMES JOHNSON
AMIR JOHNSON
JAREYD BAYLESS

[Apollo]

Good luck moving Kleiza. He probably won't be ready to play until this time next year.

I would much rather see Amir stay at this point and for Bargnani to be moved.

[grindhouse]

Amir is a career role player so he can stay I guess, till there is something better. There is not one player on this team I am in love with and if we make a trade I wouldn't cry if anyone on this team went. I will say this kleiza is a scrub! How this guy started amazes me.

[knickz]

lmao...move andrea no argument here

[Raptor4Ever]

You can put Amir and Davis out there at the same time depending on the matchups. This is pretty obvious. Amir's our best player anyway so he should be on the floor as much as possible.

Amir is not our best player.Amir is a role player who is putting decent numbers in a really awful team along side a center which plays outside and has no ambition to grab rebound.

You put any decent rebounder along AB and his stat will turn into a monster rebounder, example is Evans before he got hurt !!!

On the other hand, Davis is a young talented top 10 pick in this league with ton of upside. Amir might be a better player than Davis now but coming next year, he will have no chance of catching up with him.

Playing Amir and Davis does not make sense either. Amir is offensively handicap and Davis does not have that much offensive move either. Adding to that our weakness on the SF, you will have tough time putting decent offensive numbers on the board.

All that being said, this is NOT a knock on Amir Johnson. He got over paid which is fine BUT in the future Raptor, his role with be limited and he is getting paid very too much for that small role while the money CAN GO to the SF position which we REALLY NEED.

It is all about addressing all your needs with a limited budget at hands people.

[Raptor4Ever]

I would much rather see Amir stay at this point and for Bargnani to be moved.

AB is not going anywhere till BC is here. Plus, I am not willing to give up on AB yet. The guy can score 25 pts a games at ease and I belive under the right coaching and system and also with the right supporting cast and a Number ONE option on this team, he will be a valuable and irreplaceable piece to go forward.

Lets face it, AB is and is getting paid like a 2nd option or even a 3rd option in a good team.

[grindhouse]

AB is not going anywhere till BC is here.

sad thing is it may be true we will see. defense win championships. bargnani and defense should never be put into the same sentence unless you are saying he doesn't play it. Don't fall in love with his scoring their are other ways to win games.

[malefax]

People who think Amir is an overpaid roleplayer either haven't been watching this year or haven't been paying attention. Amir is 23 years old and he has improved his play a huge amount this year: he has cut down on fouling, he has added a mid-range shot, he has massively improved his free-throw shooting, and he has improved his ability to score in the post. He's underpaid for what he does, and he still has upside.

There are 96 minutes a game available at the two 'big' spots. That means we can play 3 players 32 minutes a game. Amir + Ed + Bargs works as a rotation.

If we can trade Amir for something better, fine: he's not indispensable. But he fits the teams current needs exactly.

[Raptor4Ever]

People who think Amir is an overpaid roleplayer either haven't been watching this year or haven't been paying attention. Amir is 23 years old and he has improved his play a huge amount this year: he has cut down on fouling, he has added a mid-range shot, he has massively improved his free-throw shooting, and he has improved his ability to score in the post. He's underpaid for what he does, and he still has upside.
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While I don't agree with what you said above , I will ask you the following question:

Who do you think will be a better player withing 2 years , Amir or Davis ?

There are 96 minutes a game available at the two 'big' spots. That means we can play 3 players 32 minutes a game. Amir + Ed + Bargs works as a rotation.
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The problem is that we can not afford all 3 of them if we want to get a great SF that can slash to the basket and make some noise. This team needs a STAR Player , a First Option to shoot it to the next level.

Amir, AB and Davis are not that guy and Amir is now replaceable by Davis at a cheaper price.